7 Quick Fixes: Holiday Gift Wrap

Gift wrapping is one of the easiest ways to personalize a gift. In Japan, the art is known as tsutsumi. In Kunio Ekiguchi’s book Gift Wrapping: Creative Ideas from Japan, tsutsumi is described as the “gentle concealment” of the object: “Just as one helps a friend into a coat carefully and courteously, a gift should be wrapped tenderly and conscientiously.” In that spirit, we offer up these simple but thoughtful ideas for presenting your present.

Above: Brown paper packages tied up with string; photograph from Cox and Cox. Black Waxed Twine is $6.24 for a 25-meter spool from Fire Mountain Gems.

Above: Repurpose an old magazine or newspaper by using its pages as gift wrap. Use Shimmery Gold Washi Tape ($3.95 for a roll of 25 feet from PaperChase) and red berries to make it festive. Photograph by Erin Boyle for Reading My Tea Leaves.